Pork and Apple Cider Braise with Potatoes
Pork browned until golden, then simmered with apples and potatoes in a reduced cider and cream sauce. A comforting one-pan dinner with tender meat and a sauce that clings to every bite.
- Total
- 105 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 75 · Rest 10
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Deglazing
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Cut the porc into 4 cm chunks and pat them dry with paper towel. Peel the pommes de terre and cut them into 3 cm pieces. Core the pommes and cut them into 2 cm wedges. Season the porc all over with 1 tsp of the salt and the black pepper.
~15 min
Salting pork ahead seasons it deeply and helps it retain moisture during cooking.
-
Heat the oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the porc in a single layer and sear undisturbed for 3 minutes, then turn and sear 3 minutes more, until deeply browned on all sides. Work in two batches if the pan is crowded, about 12 minutes total. Transfer the browned porc to a plate.
~18 min
Drying the pork and searing it in a hot pan creates a flavorful brown crust through the Maillard reaction.
Patting the pork dry before searing is what gives you a real brown crust; a wet surface steams instead of browning, and that crust is where the sauce gets its depth.
Searing Pat meat dry and sear in a hot pan without moving it to develop a deep brown crust. Crowding the pan steams the meat instead of browning it.
-
Pour the cidre and 200 ml water into the hot pan and scrape up the browned bits with the wooden spoon. Return the porc to the pan, cover, and simmer gently over low heat for 30 minutes.
~30 min
Deglazing with cider lifts the browned bits into the sauce, adding depth and preventing waste.
Deglazing Pour liquid into the hot pan and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. This dissolves the fond, adding flavor to the sauce.
-
Stir the pommes de terre and pommes into the pan, cover, and simmer 20 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and the pork is cooked through.
~20 min
Simmering gently allows the potatoes to cook through without breaking apart and lets flavors meld.
-
Uncover, stir in the crème and the remaining 0.5 tsp salt, and simmer uncovered 8 minutes, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.
~8 min
Simmering uncovered reduces the sauce, concentrating flavors and thickening it to coat the spoon.
If the sauce is still thin after 8 minutes, lift the lid and simmer a few minutes longer; the cider needs to reduce enough to coat the spoon, not run off it.
-
Take the pan off the heat and let the braise rest 10 minutes so the sauce settles and the meat stays juicy. Spoon into shallow bowls with plenty of sauce.
~10 min
Resting the braise lets the meat reabsorb juices and the sauce settle for better texture.